Panabo History

Long before the rich lowland was discovered by civilization, a group of stocky-haired aborigines called Aetas have already staked a claim and declared this place their own. Far from being civilized, these aetas led a nomadic life and co-existed with the living creatures of the wild.

They have few wants and were easily satisfied. With the use of their bow and arrow – “PANA-SA-BOBOY” as they call it, they hunted for food which primarily consisted of rootcrops and meat of wild boars. “Pana-sa-Boboy” was their most essential tool and it became a part of their lives.

When the Christian settlers came at the onset of the century, these friendly natives moved further to the hinterlands along with them their “Pana-sa-Boboy”. This later evolved into the present day as PANABO.

1999 Hypothesis

The Local Government Unit of Panabo conducted the Barangay Development Planning Workshop wherein historical trending with all the barangays was considered using the key informant interview from the baseline information. The oldest natives in the barangay who were born in Panabo were tapped but never mentioned about the history as first drafted. This ignites the idea to dig out more information. The stories were collated until the final consensus was presented.

It was disclosed that it is not only the Aetas alone who first settled in Panabo but together with them are theKalagans (now called the Davao Muslims and the ANGS (non-Muslims and non-Christians). As they grew in number, they established their own villages and a trading center where they exchanged their goods, services and agricultural products. They fondly called this place, TABOAN of PANABOAN in the local language.“PANABO-AN” orTABOAN was finally changed to PANABO which became the official name of the community. Thus its people are

now called PANABOANS.

Panabo City is Located along Daang Maharlika (Pan-Philippines Highway) and is situated between two major cities, Davao City and Tagum City.

By LAND, you can reach Panabo City from Davao City via Davao-Butuan, Davao-Mati, and Davao –Tagum bus routes. Other public vehicles such jeepneys, vans and metered taxicabs are also available. It is 32 kilometers or approximately 45 minutes away from Davao City and 28 kilometers or 30 minutes away from Tagum City.

By AIR, The Davao International Airport has numerous local and international airlinrs flying into Davao. From the airport, you can either take a metered cab, van or jeepney going to Panabo City or via Tagum City or Mati City.

By SEA,Panabo City is accessible through the Sasa port of Davao City. From Davao City you can choose among the numerous public vehicles to bring you to Panabo City.